Front desk office assistant vs office support assistant

The differences between front desk office assistants and office support assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a front desk office assistant and an office support assistant. Additionally, an office support assistant has an average salary of $33,548, which is higher than the $31,361 average annual salary of a front desk office assistant.

The top three skills for a front desk office assistant include front desk, patients and customer service. The most important skills for an office support assistant are customer service, data entry, and office equipment.

Front desk office assistant vs office support assistant overview

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Office Support Assistant
Yearly salary	$31,361	$33,548
Hourly rate	$15.08	$16.13
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	113,589	134,113
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a front desk office assistant do?

Front desk office assistants are the first point of contact for anyone visiting a business or an office. They greet workers and clients and perform routine administrative tasks around the office. These tasks include taking phone calls, scheduling appointments, responding to inquiries and concerns of guests, maintaining and arranging office files, taking and delivering messages, and sending mail. Being polite, jovial, and firm are key characteristics in this role.

What does an office support assistant do?

An office support assistant is in charge of performing clerical support tasks to keep offices running smoothly and efficiently. Their responsibilities typically include answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, organizing and disseminating files, and coordinating with different departments. There are also instances where they must attend meetings and take down information, greet visitors, and monitor the inventory of office supplies, processing procurement requests when necessary. Furthermore, they may assist the staff when it comes to programs and projects.

Front desk office assistant vs office support assistant salary

Front desk office assistants and office support assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Office Support Assistant
Average salary	$31,361	$33,548
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $46,000	Between $26,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Sierra Pacific Industries
Best paying industry	-	Transportation

Differences between front desk office assistant and office support assistant education

There are a few differences between a front desk office assistant and an office support assistant in terms of educational background:

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Office Support Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Front desk office assistant vs office support assistant demographics

Here are the differences between front desk office assistants' and office support assistants' demographics:

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Office Support Assistant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 14.1% Female, 85.9%	Male, 18.1% Female, 81.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 7.6% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between front desk office assistant and office support assistant duties and responsibilities

Front desk office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage front-line customer service efforts and deliver maximum revenue generation by scheduling patients and maintaining substantial client database.
Enter patient demographics into EMR.
Track patient files records, and other information including entry of data into EMR.
Follow health center and departmental protocols for communication with patients and providers.
Respond to incoming patient calls, including conducting phone triage to determine necessity of scheduling appointments
Enhance student body knowledge by researching key facts to create educational PowerPoint slides to be publish throughout campus

Office support assistant example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain patients' medical records by utilizing computer applications management database processing system to ensure county compliance.
Maintain HIPAA standards and audit secure patient files prior to filing.
Make sure all records are store and handle in compliance with HIPAA procedures.
Process payroll for administrative and clinical staff.
Create PowerPoint presentations for many different project managers.
Process payroll correcting entry forms, logging pertinent information into SharePoint spreadsheet for team activity.

Front desk office assistant vs office support assistant skills

Common front desk office assistant skills

Front Desk, 20%
Patients, 18%
Customer Service, 9%
Phone Calls, 9%
Data Entry, 8%
Appointment Scheduling, 5%

Common office support assistant skills

Customer Service, 20%
Data Entry, 16%
Office Equipment, 8%
Phone Calls, 6%
Office Procedures, 5%
PowerPoint, 5%

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Front Desk Office Assistant
Front Desk Office Assistant vs Office Support Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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